3 Buccaneers not named Tom Brady or Rob Gronkowski to watch against the Patriots

​​This may come as a surprise, but the Patriots will not be facing off against a whole team of Tom Bradys on Sunday night when they face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (They might at least mix a Rob Gronkowski in there somewhere, after all.)

But as much as guys like Matt Judon try to keep the focus on the big picture, he and we all know the storyline surrounding this game.

Absolutely every move Brady makes from the moment he sets foot in Gillette Stadium on Sunday to the moment he leaves it will be watched and debated ceaselessly, with Gronkowski being watched hardly less diligently in his own return to Foxboro.

So when you’re putting together a list of Buccaneers to watch on Sunday, why bother putting them on it? You’re all going to be watching them anyway.

With that in mind, here are three non-Brady/Gronkowski players to keep an eye on this weekend, including another former Patriot who might give New England some problems of his own.

Devin White

The electrifying third-year linebacker makes this list for two reasons.

On one hand, he’s among the most exciting young defensive players in football. His blazing 4.4 speed at 237 pounds makes him a true freak at the linebacker position, which he flashed often last season while finishing as a top-10 tackler in football during his second season.

He’s also a problem as a pash-rusher, ranking third among all linebackers in total pressures (hurries, hits, and sacks) according to Pro Football Focus. With excellent pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul possibly out of the mix due to a shoulder injury, the blitz-heavy Bucs may use White to harass Mac Jones even more than they otherwise might have.

Here’s the rub, though: while White has displayed playmaking ability as a cover man in his career (three interceptions in two seasons), he’s largely been barbecue chicken in coverage.

He’s allowing an 81 percent catch rate and a passer rating of 111.3 when targeted this year, suggesting a good game plan might be able to expose some of those deficiencies.

Though the Patriots might not have a running back who can take advantage of him with James White out for the season, this could be a chance to get Hunter Henry or Jonnu Smith isolated on him 1-on-1 and see what they can do.

Shaq Barrett

The seven-year pro has hit his stride with Tampa Bay as a starter after playing a reduced role in Denver to start his career.

Counting this year, he has 28.5 sacks since coming to Tampa, including a monstrous 19.5-sack season in 2019. He’s back at it again in 2021, leading the team in pressures (11) through three games.

As with several edge rushers highlighted before this week, Barrett primarily works from the defense’s left side (offense’s right), meaning whoever mans the right tackle spot for the Patriots could see a lot of No. 58. As of now, Trent Brown remains limited in practice (hamstring), though there’s optimism the mountainous right tackle could be back in the starting lineup after a two-week absence.

It’s also worth noting, though, that Patriots left tackle Isaiah Wynn (knee) has also been limited in practice. As such, perhaps Barrett might work wherever he finds the matchup most favorable, though he overwhelmingly plays over the right tackle.

Barrett and the Bucs front haven’t had a ton of success getting after that quarterback, which might explain why the team has the highest blitz rate in the league while generating the fourth-worst percentage of pressure per drop-back according to Pro Football Reference.

But the Patriots have struggled to protect Jones from taking hits both against a barrage of blitzes, stunts, loops and pure pass rushes. New England’s offensive line ranks 17th in the league in pass-blocking efficiency and is tied for the eight-most pressures in football (37) per Pro Football Focus.

Opposing defenses have eaten against the Patriots offensive line too much through three weeks, and keeping the likes of Barrett off Jones would be a welcome change of pace.

Antonio Brown

We couldn’t avoid former Patriots legends after all, could we?

By snap counts, Brown is essentially treated as Tampa Bay’s third wide receiver behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. At the moment, Brown has only six catches on the season, well behind those two top pass-catchers.

But the former Pittsburgh Steelers star (and one-week Patriot) carries some explosive potential with him.

Brown is averaging 23 yards per catch largely on the strength of his 47-yard touchdown grab in Week 1. He put up 121 yards in that season opener, followed by just one catch for 17 yards in Week 2 before missing last week’s loss to the LA Rams (Reserve/COVID list).

But even aside from that one catch, Brown still leads Buccaneers receivers in average depth of target (21.2 yards) by a wide margin. Only one of Brown’s targets has been under 10 yards, and he’s been targeted on routes longer than 20 yards on five of his 10 targets, second only to Evans’s seven deep targets.

The 33-year-old might not have the juice he once did, but he’s shown he can still threaten a defense down the field. If Brady sees Brown matched up against Jalen Mills or Joejuan Williams in single coverage, which will almost certainly happen at some point, you can probably still chalk that up as a win for the offense.

The Patriots can’t focus so hard on Evans, Godwin, and Gronkowski that they lose track of Brown for big plays.